Pentagon blocked move to make water safer for millions of Americans

[IChing]

· Contaminating solvent used on military bases
· Agency feared significant health risk for millions

Julian Borger in Washington
Thursday March 30, 2006
The Guardian

The Pentagon stalled efforts to clean water supplies contaminated by a carcinogenic chemical despite evidence that it posed a significant health risk to millions of people, it was reported yesterday. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) investigated the solvent, trichloroethylene, which is extensively used on military bases, after significant quantities were found in water supplies. In its report, published in 2001, the EPA found it to be 40 times more likely to cause cancer than had been previously thought, and recommended tough safety standards to limit public exposure. There was also evidence the chemical played a role in birth defects.>>>>snip

"The evidence is that there was some monkey business going on between the EPA and the Pentagon," said Gina Solomon, an expert on environmental medicine at the University of California, who was on the scientific board that reviewed the EPA report.>>>>snip

David Ozonoff, a professor of environmental health at Boston University, said the Pentagon's objections to the EPA's findings were part of a wider pattern of undermining environmental regulations.

"There is essentially a whole industry out there of doubt creators. They don't do any science. They just question the regulatory agencies," Prof Ozonoff said.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,1742619,00.html?gusrc=rss

[NYC]

1. ...significant quantities were found in water supplies.

...The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) investigated the solvent, trichloroethylene, which is extensively used on military bases, after significant quantities were found in water supplies...

Why? Why are we the enemy? Why do they take every opportunity to poison us, cheat us, etc?

[moodforaday]

2. Could it be...? Nah!

There was a story just two or three days back about the White House (?) running a drug study (??) by testing sewage water. The official story is they're looking for residual cocaine, to see if they can tell how many people in the area take drugs. My first reaction on reading the story was - what are they /really/ looking for?

FAIRFAX, Va. - Fairfax County is taking part in an unusual White House drug study.

Wastewater from communities throughout the Potomac River Basin is being tested for the urinary byproducts of cocaine.

"Apparently, they're able to ascertain how many people may be using illicit drugs, in this case cocaine, with such studies," Board of Supervisors Chairman Gerry Connolly tells WTOP.

(...)

http://www.wtopnews.com/index.php?nid=25&sid=737418

[havocmom]

16. Can't help but think about that tidbit when bushco first took over

about the Pentagon trying to find a method to administer a drug to mass urban populations in case the US military had to occupy a hostile area. The item was in the news cycle for a VERY short time then disappeared.

It stays in the back of my mind. Funny how it pops back into my thoughts at times of revelations about the Pentagon's latest questionable acts against the American people. Can't help but think the drug to calm hostile urban populations was not meant for use in places like Iraq.

And we continue to wonder how much abuse, how many atrocities, how many broken laws by the president it will take to get Americans mad enough to take to the streets en masse...

And we wonder about the seeming numbness of our spirit as a people.

Yeah, looking for cocaine in our piss. Sure. That's what they need to know we are metabolizing?

[The Backlash Cometh]

3. Who didn't see that one coming?

"The evidence is that there was some monkey business going on between the EPA and the Pentagon,"

Whatever these dipshits did to favor big business, you KNOW they've been doing for their own government agencies for decades.

[rodeodance]

7. the DOD fought the findings!

But the Los Angeles Times reported that the defence department, which owns about 1,400 bases and other sites contaminated by trichloroethylene (TCE), fought the findings, challenging their scientific basis. Under pressure from the Pentagon, political appointees at the EPA overruled their own scientists, took them off the case and postponed action pending a further study by the National Academy of Sciences, which is due to report this summer.

[rodeodance]

4. will this story just evaporate--will the media carry it?

[Rose Siding]

8. LAT is doing a 2-parter on it. -

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=103&topic_id=200335&mesg_id=200335

[lovuian]

5. Can I ask where they found the contamination???

it doesn't say!!!

[rodeodance]

6. says the miliary used it extensively-also read this.

.....Yesterday afternoon the EPA had not returned a call seeking comment. A Pentagon spokeswoman pointed to remarks made by a defence department official, Alex Beehler, to the LA Times, arguing that much about TCE was unknown. "We are all forgetting the facts on the table," said Mr Beehler. "Meanwhile, we have done everything we can to curtail use of TCE."

TCE use has declined dramatically in recent years, but it remains one of the most prevalent contaminants in ground water in the US and around the world. It can be removed from human water supplies, but at a cost. The US air force, which used TCE to clean machinery, was spending $5bn on cleaning the ground water at its bases at the time of the 2001 report and would have faced a further $1.5bn in costs if health standards had been raised.

David Ozonoff, a professor of environmental health at Boston University, said the Pentagon's objections to the EPA's findings were part of a wider pattern of undermining environmental regulations.

"There is essentially a whole industry out there of doubt creators. They don't do any science. They just question the regulatory agencies," Prof Ozonoff said.

[The Backlash Cometh]

10. Let us know if they identify the old Naval Base in Orlando, Florida.

It's now a developed community. Baldwin Park.

[Mojorabbit]

15. Hell, I live near baldwin park

and my sis works there

[The Backlash Cometh]

24. Theoretically, the people who are buying there are given full

disclosure about the area. You couldn't find hotter real estate in Orlando these days. Wait for it...

[anotherdrew]

20. they could have just built the bases to not leak filth on the earth...

but that was too much trouble I guess. Short-sighted fools will be the death of us all. Hell, may already have been.

[cally]

26. Not really

Many of the contaminants on bases are from cleaning solvents. It was/is common to use solvents to clean machinery and parts. Folks thought it was safe or chose to ignore reports that it was dangerous. It then enters the soil and seeps to the water supply. That's why old airplane repair sites are so contaminated. It's expensive to clean up now because the contamination has spread so far. Generally, they have to pump out the aquifers and run them through treatment plants.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

11. Don't worry. It's only near military installations.

Oh, shit!

[ConcernedCanuk]

25. Scary image that, all those bases right below British Columbia

.
.
.

USA has had a long-time goal of annexing BC as a state - securing the whole West coast for themselves up to Alaska

Then invade through Alberta which is rife with petroleum resources

And then on to Manitoba to steal our water

I'm getting worried

[sakabatou]

9. WTF?!

[goforit]

12. ANTI AMERICANS!!!!.... traitors to the max!

[LynnTheDem]

13. "Contaminating solvent used on military bases"

SUPPORTING THE TROOPS...right to their deaths.

With SUPPORT like this, our troops don't need FOREIGN ENEMIES.

[IChing]

14. Rocket Fuel Contaminates Lettuce and Milk(another one they polute you with

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Nov. 29, 2004

CONTACT: Bill Walker or Renee Sharp, EWG, [phone]

Federal Tests Confirm Nationwide Rocket Fuel Contamination of Milk, Lettuce
WASHINGTON — Federal investigators have found a toxic rocket fuel chemical in almost all of more than 200 samples of lettuce and milk collected nationwide, in concentrations well above the level considered safe in drinking water by the U.S. EPA and Massachusetts health officials.

The federal tests, completed in August and posted online this week, confirm previous findings by the Environmental Working Group, university researchers and California journalists, but are the first to document nationwide contamination of food. The results provide startling new evidence that perchlorate, the explosive component of solid rocket fuel, is moving from the hundreds of places where it is known to contaminate water supplies into the nation's food supply.

"With these results, it's time for health officials, perchlorate polluters and food producers to stop stalling by saying we need more studies," said Renee Sharp, an EWG senior analyst. "Rocket fuel is in our water, in vegetables, in milk. How much more evidence do we need to take action?"

According to the EPA's preliminary risk assessment, currently under review by the National Academy of Sciences, exposure to the chemical should not exceed 1 part per billion (ppb) in drinking water — the same level adopted by Massachusetts. Health officials in California have set a preliminary safety standard of 6 ppb.

Perchlorate can affect the thyroid gland's ability to make essential hormones. For fetuses, infants and children, disruptions in thyroid hormone levels can cause lowered IQ, mental retardation, loss of hearing and speech, and motor skill deficits.

>>>>snip
http://www.organicconsumers.org/foodsafety/lettuce120104.cfm


White House Delays Release of Study Showing Toxic Rocket Fuel in Most Americans

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MARCH 3, 2006
12:48 PM

CONTACT: Environmental Working Group
Bill Walker or Renee Sharp, [phone]
EWG Public Affairs, [phone]


White House Delays Release of Study Showing Toxic Rocket Fuel in Most Americans

WASHINGTON - March 3 - Following a published report that the Bush Administration is holding up a study that shows most Americans carry a toxic rocket fuel chemical in their bodies at levels close to federal safety limits, Environmental Working Group (EWG) is calling for the immediate release of the study so EPA and state agencies can take steps to protect the public.

Risk Policy Report, an independent newsletter, reported Feb. 28 that the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy is pressuring the Centers for Disease Control to delay the release of a study that tested for perchlorate in human blood samples from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). An EPA source told the newsletter that CDC has found levels of perchlorate that "leave no margin of safety" for the public, compared to EPA's current risk limit.

Perchlorate, the explosive ingredient in solid rocket fuel, has contaminated drinking water and soil in at least 35 states, with most of the known contamination coming from military bases and defense contractors. Tests by EWG, academic scientists in Texas and Arizona, state officials in California and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have found perchlorate in milk, produce and many other foods and animal feed crops from coast to coast. Perchlorate is a thyroid toxin, and animal tests show that even small amounts can disrupt normal growth and development in fetuses, infants and children.

http://www.commondreams.org/news2006/0303-08.htm

[anitar1]

30. I lived in Las Vegas 5 years ago, and perchlorate was

found in Lake Mead while I lived there. Vegas drinking water is foul tasting, IMO. Had to buy bottled water for cooking/drinking. But who knows where bottled water REALLY come from? America, the land of scams.

[IChing]

32. Here in California we buy water at dispensing stations

The water is triple filtered and state certified. I pay 15cents to refill my 1gal jugs.
I know the water is much better than my tap water, in taste, smell and cooking characteristics.
I don't buy drinks with ice in them, since many ice machines are unfiltered or come from the tap.
The water here clogs, washing machines, dishwaters etc. We are close to Vandenberg which is on the perchlocate EPA spill
lists.

I posted earlier last year on the perchlorate problem



links:http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=&imgrefurl=http://www.basinwater.com/perchlorate/dangers.php4&h=270&w=350&sz=28&tbnid=X08iXkbgqqKSUM:&tbnh=89&tbnw=116&hl=en&start=6&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dperchlorate%2Bmaps%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26safe%3Doff%26client%3Dsafari%26rls%3Den%26sa%3DN

[Nothing Without Hope]

17. And then there was Halliburton giving Iraq troops contaminated water

with fecal bacteria in it - they knowingly got it downstream from raw sewage and sold it for a profit, needless to say:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=212988
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=220764
http://www.boston.com/news/world/articles/2006/01/26/troops_said_to_get_tainted_water

Many were made ill by consuming this contaminated water. So far as I know, Halliburton has not been held accountable.

This trichloroethylene report is no surprise - there is no lower limit to what this administration will stoop to.

[anotherdrew]

18. so - they're protecting us so they can poison us themselves, great

what the hell is wrong with these people, like they had "no way of knowing" this might be bad. Well, folks, I guess it's acceptable losses for those of you effected, not that you'll ever be able to PROVE that this particular chemical gave you cancer. It could after all, have been any one of the other many possibilities we're steeped in. Lovely ain't it?

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

19. The Corruptagon has done more untold...

...damage to this country and humanity in general since it's inception than we will ever know.

[WhiteTara]

21. That would be Christie Todd Whitman

demon woman who cared more for whaterver that her duty to protect the earth and all the citizens who live on the the earth. Rot in hell and may you never sleep well no matter how many drugs you take to shut away the nightmares.

[SoCalDem]

22. Whew.. for a minute there I thought they had declared war on sharks

[ConcernedCanuk]

31. NIce pix ya got there of the Pretzeldent and his "First Lady"

.
.
.

And they are running the World! ????

Scary . . . .

[formercia]

23. Clean water? The bottled water companies will be ruined.

Water will be te next cash cow for corporate plutocrats. As we speak, companies Like Bechtel are trying to corner the market in clean water. They have already been kicked out of Bolivia for gouging poor people.

They want you to be afraid to drink the water.

[Supersedeas]

27. here's to you 'Doubt Creators" - real American heros - men of genuise

[Igel]

28. It would be interesting to know when the EPA found that

the contamination occurred. Trichloroethylene was widely used in the '60s and '70s (and no doubt before that, and even after it), not just in the military. Lots of garages used it, lots of industries, even dry cleaners. It simply wasn't considered dangerous, few precautions were given concerning its use.

My ma worked in a steel mill and would bring the stuff home; we always had a few quarts of the stuff around when I was growing up for removing things like gum from hair or ink from shirts and skin. I'd come in with hands covered in some kind of tar or oil, and go to the poorly-ventilated laundry room to use TCE to clean my hands. If the typewriter needed cleaning, we'd sit there with Q-tips and TCE and clean it. Handy stuff, apart from the health risks. When we were done using it, we just put it down the drain; if we were outside, we dumped it in the street or on the ground. My mother was really upset when it got hard to take the stuff, and then it finally vanished; she said they told her it was dangerous, but she didn't believe them.

As for doubt creators, they work on both sides. You don't like a policy, you cast doubt on it. Standard policy.

[Roland99]

29. This admin. is very adept at speaking out of both sides of its mouth.

From one side we hear them lamenting the lack of education in this country and the US falling behind other countries in science. Then, out of the other side, we hear crap like this where science and public safety take a backseat to politics and money.